ACHUKAreviews

  • Back to main ACHUKA page…

Heretic

March 28, 2006 By patrick Leave a Comment

Sarah Singleton

Simon and Schuster

1416904034

Feb 2006

‘Look at me, Elizabeth. Do you think I’m wicked? Do you think I’m a devil? In my time everyone was a Catholic, because there was only one Church, but even then I was different from the others because of the shadow land. Don’t let your mind be clouded by what other people have told you. Judge me with your heart.’
So speaks the strange green child that twelve-year-old Elizabeth finds in the forest as she secretly tends a ruined Catholic shrine. The year is 1586 and Protestant England is an unforgiving place for Catholics. But mindless blame, fear and persecution are nothing new, as the green child, Isabella, can testify. She herself was born more than three hundred years ago, the child of a wise woman and midwife. Her mother was executed as a witch, a scapegoat when a rich family’s baby was born with a faulty heart, and since then Isabella has hidden mostly in the land of faeries, leaving her bones hidden in a hollow tree awaiting her return.
Yes, this all sounds a little strange, but Sarah Singleton has a gift for blending the seen and the unseen, the matter-of-fact and the magical, into a convincing whole. After all, what is the magical other than something we are not used to or don’t understand? And that is what this book deals with; the problem of how the different (in this case the spiritually different) can be demonised by the unthinking mob. Set against the hounding of Ruth Leland (Isabella’s mother) and the sixteenth century persecution of Catholics is the simple and powerful friendship that develops between the two girls. For Isabella her tragedy is done, and yet she berates herself for not having stayed at her mother’s side until the bitter end. For Elizabeth the fear has just begun: the Queen has sent the brutal Christopher Merrivale to hunt for the priest that her family is sheltering. Perhaps here there is a chance for the two girls to help each other: for Isabella to gain ‘closure’ and a second chance with a loving family, whilst Elizabeth gains safety and escape.
A powerful tale against a strong historical backdrop, this book introduces many themes but works most of all because of the focus on the girls’ fears and hopes and needs. In comparison, the sinister Merrivale, the dogmatic and ecstatic priest, even the cold-hearted faeries, seem unimportant, no matter what their schemes and desires. The writing, too, is mostly first rate, with a great feel for visual detail:
‘As the men whispered one to another, light and shadows slid over their faces, alternately revealing and hiding eyes, noses, mouths moist with wine and words. They looked like demons, leering and grimacing.’
A highly appealing, multi-dimensional historical adventure. Check it out.

Filed Under: Fiction, Historical

Social

  • View achuka’s profile on Twitter

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Categories

  • Adult
  • Audiobook
  • Chapter Books
  • Counting
  • Drama
  • Early Readers
  • Fairytales & Retellings
  • Fantasy
  • Fiction
  • Graphic Novels
  • Historical
  • Humour
  • Mystery/Thriller
  • Non-Fiction
  • Picture Books
  • Poetry
  • Pop-Ups
  • Reference
  • SciFi
  • Series
  • Teen/YA
  • Uncategorized
  • War

Archives

  • August 2018
  • February 2018
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • May 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • November 2011
  • September 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • September 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • February 2010
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • June 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • July 2008
  • March 2008
  • November 2007
  • October 2007
  • September 2007
  • May 2007
  • April 2007
  • February 2007
  • January 2007
  • December 2006
  • November 2006
  • September 2006
  • August 2006
  • July 2006
  • June 2006
  • May 2006
  • April 2006
  • March 2006
  • February 2006
  • January 2006
  • December 2005
  • November 2005
  • October 2005

Copyright ACHUKA © 2021 · designed on Genesis Framework